Although she walked out, Allcare tried to establish a $4,000 line of credit for her, Cappel alleges in a complaint filed with the Ohio attorney general's office.

"I believe they were going to find other things wrong with my mother's mouth and try to sell her some other services," Palma said.

Allcare, which operates dozens of dental offices in the Midwest and Northeast, said patient-confidentiality rules prevent it from discussing Cappel's case. However, the company said it has never tried to deceive a patient.

Some consumers -- Cappel included -- might beg to differ.

In the past three years, the Ohio attorney general's office has received 30 complaints about Allcare. Last month, the company agreed to a $135,000 consumer settlement with the attorney general's office in Pennsylvania, the chain's home state.

The agency said numerous consumers had accused Allcare of "not honoring advertised discounts, using confusing information about limitations or qualifications for various promotions, and failing to provide consumers with information about financing services." The company acknowledged no wrongdoing.

In a written response to questions from WBNS-TV (Channel 10), a lawyer representing Allcare said the company disputed the Pennsylvania allegations but ultimately decided to "move forward."

As for the grumbling among some consumers in Ohio, the lawyer said that the number of complaints filed in the past three years represented just 0.025 percent of the patients seen by Allcare during the same period.

Several former Allcare employees, including two dentists, told WBNS that the complaints -- however few -- probably have merit.

A former office manager said company sales reps routinely pushed patients to get the most expensive services their credit lines would allow. A frequent pitch, he said, involved references to the many Americans who die annually of dental problems.

"We're telling these patients this basically to get a rise and scare them, so we can get the complete treatment plan done," said the ex-manager, who asked that he not be named because he still works in the field.

That's "simply untrue," Allcare's attorney said. He added that the former manager appears to be "disgruntled."